| Acknowledgements | 第6-7页 |
| Abstract (Chinese) | 第7-8页 |
| Abstract (English) | 第8页 |
| Abbreviations | 第11-14页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第14-16页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第16-40页 |
| 2.1 Variational Pragmatics | 第16-18页 |
| 2.2 The Speech Act of Responding to Thanks | 第18-34页 |
| 2.2.1 Previous Studies on Gratitude Expression | 第18-19页 |
| 2.2.2 Previous Studies on Responding to Thanks | 第19-34页 |
| 2.2.2.1 Early Phase of Studies on Responding to Thanks in English | 第19-24页 |
| 2.2.2.2 Recent Phase of Studies on Responding to Thanks in English | 第24-31页 |
| 2.2.2.3 Studies on Responding to Thanks in Other Languages | 第31-34页 |
| 2.3 Hong Kong English and Philippine English | 第34-40页 |
| Chapter Three Data and Methodology | 第40-51页 |
| 3.1 Theoretical Framework | 第40-42页 |
| 3.2 Research Question and Data Collection | 第42-48页 |
| 3.3 Methodology | 第48-51页 |
| Chapter Four Results, Analysis, and Discussion | 第51-78页 |
| 4.1 Realizations of IRAT in Hong Kong English and Philippine English | 第51-70页 |
| 4.1.1 Tokens and Types | 第51-59页 |
| 4.1.2 Realization Strategies | 第59-61页 |
| 4.1.3 Head Moves, Supportive Moves, and Internal Modification | 第61-64页 |
| 4.1.4 Comparison of IRAT Realizations between HKE and British English, andbetween PE and American English | 第64-70页 |
| 4.2 Discussions | 第70-78页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusion | 第78-81页 |
| Bibliography | 第81-92页 |
